THE PRESIDENT: I'm so honored to be with you all to pay tribute to
an exceptional man and to further a great cause. Leon Sullivan
understood an important principle: If we want to live in a world that
is free, we must work for a world that is just. (Applause.) The free
people of America have a duty to advance the cause of freedom in
Africa. American interests and American morality lead in the same
direction: We will work in partnership with African nations and
leaders for an African continent that lives in liberty and grows in
prosperity.

I want to thank Andrew Young for his service to our great country.
I appreciate his friendship. I also want to welcome my friend, the
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the stage, and I want
to congratulate him on receiving the prestigious Leon H. Sullivan
Summit Award. You have picked a good man. (Applause.)

I want to thank Jack Kemp for supporting this organization. I
appreciate his -- (applause.)

It has been my honor tonight to meet the Sullivan family, headed by
a fantastic lady, Grace Sullivan -- (applause) -- who has raised
beautiful children, people who are willing to follow the example of
their dad. We were -- Hope and I were talking about that we had a
lot of common. You know, we both have got famous fathers and strong
mothers. (Laughter.) I appreciate very much Julie and Howard and
meeting the grandkids. It's a thrill to be here. Your dad and your
grandfather was a great American. It's the only way to call it.
(Applause.)

I appreciate so very much members of my Cabinet and my inner circle
being here. Of course, the great Secretary of State, Colin Powell.
(Applause.) Secretary of Treasury, Paul O'Neill. (Applause.) The
National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice. (Applause.) I see the
Deputy Director of HUD, my friend, Alfonso Jackson. (Applause.)

I also appreciate members of Congress who are here tonight; members
of the Diplomatic Corps. It's good to see the ambassadors from the
African nations, many of whom I've had a chance to spend some quality
time with. It's great to see Coretta Scott King here, as well.
(Applause.)

Thank you all for coming and supporting this important dinner.
Thank you for giving me the chance to talk about my administration's
plans for the continent of Africa.

I'm really grateful, though, that the Secretary of State and
Treasury are here. See, it was last May that Secretary Powell became
the first member of my Cabinet to travel to Africa. And this May,
Secretary O'Neill was the latest member of my Cabinet to travel to
Africa. (Applause.) He and Bono were quickly dubbed "The Odd
Couple." (Laughter.) But they soon found out that the rock star could
hold his own in debates on real growth rates and that the Secretary of
Treasury is second to none in compassion. (Applause.) I knew that the
trip had had an effect on our Secretary when he showed up in the Oval
Office wearing blue sunglasses. (Laughter.)

Here's what we believe. Africa is a continent where promise and
progress are important. And we recognize they sit alongside disease,
war and desperate poverty -- sometimes even in the same village.
Africa is a place where a few nations are havens for terrorism, and
where many more -- many more -- are reaching to claim their
democratic future. Africa is a place of great beauty and resources,
and a place of great opportunity. So tonight I announce that in order
to continue to build America's partnership with Africa, I'll be going
to the continent next year. (Applause.)

Can I come to your place -- I think the President has in mind a
particular stop. (Laughter.) Put me on the spot here, right with all
these cameras. (Laughter.)

I look forward to the trip, I really do. It's going to be a great
trip. And I look forward to focusing on the challenges that we must
face together. Everyone in this room is joined by a common vision of
an Africa where people are healthy and people are literate. A vision
that builds prosperity through trade and markets. A vision free from
the horrors of war and terror. America will not build this new Africa,
Africans will. (Applause.) But we will stand with the African
countries that are putting in place the policies for success through
important new efforts such as the Millennium Challenge Fund. And we
will take Africa's side in confronting the obstacles to hope and
development on the African continent.

One of the greatest obstacles to Africa's development is HIV/AIDS,
which clouds the future of entire nations. The world must do more to
fight the spread of this disease, and must do more to treat and care
for those it afflicts. And this country will lead the effort.
(Applause.)

My administration plans to dedicate an additional $500 million to
prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. (Applause.) And as we do
so, we will work to improve health care delivery in Africa and in the
Caribbean. This will allow us to treat one million women annually and
to reduce the mother-to-child transmission by 40 percent within five
years or less in the countries we target.

Every year -- it's important for my fellow Americans to
understand this statistic -- every year, approximately 2 million
HIV-infected women give birth. More than one in three will pass the
virus on to her baby, meaning that on the continent of Africa there are
close to 2,000 more infected infants every day.

We will begin to save many of these young lives by focusing our
efforts on countries where the problem is most severe, and where our
help can have the greatest impact. We will pursue proven and effective
medical strategies that we know will make a difference. And when the
lives of babies and mothers are at stake, the only measure of
compassion is real results.

In places with stronger health care systems, we'll provide
voluntary testing, prevention, counseling, and a comprehensive therapy
that we know is highly effective in reducing virus transmission from
mother to child. We know it works. In places with weaker health care
systems, we'll provide testing and counseling, and support one-time
treatment programs that reduce the chances of infection by nearly 50
percent.

Most importantly, we will make a major commitment to improve health
care delivery systems in these countries. We will pair hospitals in
Africa with hospitals in America; we will deploy volunteer medical
professionals to assist and train their African counterparts; and we
will recruit and pay African medical and graduate students to provide
testing and treatment and care. As health care delivery systems
improve in these nations, even more progress will be possible. And as
we see what works, as we're confident that our money will be well spent
and results will matter, we will make more funding available.
(Applause.)

I want to thank the members of Congress who have supported this
initiative. I particularly want to thank Senators Helms and Frist and
Congressman Jim Kolbe of Arizona. I'm also pleased that organizations
exercising on -- exercising leadership on this issue will join our
efforts, particularly the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, headed by
Elizabeth Glaser. And I will call upon other industrialized nations
and international organizations to join as well, so that we can bring
the hope of life to hundreds of thousands of African children.

This $500 million commitment is the largest initiative to prevent
mother-to-child transmission of HIV by any government in history.
(Applause.) It's important for you to know that this funding will
complement the nearly $1 billion we already contribute to international
efforts to combat HIV/AIDS; the money will complement the $2.5 billion
we plan to spend on research and development of new drugs and
treatments; and it will complement the $500 million we've committed to
the Global Fund to fight AIDS and other infectious disease.

Lack of education is the second great barrier to progress in
Africa. Tonight I announce that my administration plans to double --
to $200 million over five years -- the funding devoted to an
initiative I put forward last year to improve basic education and
teacher training in Africa. (Applause.)

Here's what we believe we can achieve. With that money we will
train more than 420,000 teachers; provide more than 250,000
scholarships for African girls -- (applause); and partner with
historically black colleges and universities in America to provide 4.5
million more textbooks for children in Africa. (Applause.) As we do
so, we'll make sure the school system is more open and more
transparent, so African moms and dads can demand needed reform.

Education is the foundation of development and democracy -- in
every culture, on every continent. And we'll work to give Africa's
children the advantages of literacy and learning so they can build
Africa's future.

The third great obstacle to Africa's development is the trade
barriers in rich nations -- and in Africa, itself -- that impede
the sale of Africa's products.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act is a tremendous success. My
administration strongly supports efforts in Congress to enhance AGOA.
And to encourage more U.S. companies to see Africa's opportunities
firsthand, I propose holding the next AGOA Forum in Africa to coincide
with my visit. (Applause.)

We will continue to explore a regional free trade agreement with
the Southern African Customs Union.

Africa also stands -- also stands to gain even greater benefits
from trade if and when we lower trade barriers worldwide. And so I'm
committed to working in partnership with all the developing countries
to make the global trade negotiations launched in Doha a success.
(Applause.) And we look forward to advancing all of our development
priorities with African countries at the upcoming World Summit in
Johannesburg.

Expanding global trade in products and technologies and ideals is a
defining characteristic of our age -- capable of lifting whole
nations out of the cycle of dependency and want. In this country we
will work to ensure that all Africa -- all of Africa is fully part of
the world trading system and fully part of the progress of our times.
It is important for my fellow citizens to know we will build trade with
Africa because it is good for America's prosperity; trade is good for
building prosperity in Africa, and it is good for building the momentum
of economic and political liberty across that important continent.
(Applause.)

And, finally, for Africans to realize their dream of a more hopeful
and prosperous future, Africa must be free from war and free from
terror. (Applause.) Many African nations are making real
contributions to the global war on terror -- particularly my friend,
President Obasanjo. I can remember his phone call right after
September the 11th and, Mr. President, I want to thank you for your
condolences and your support.

I've asked Congress this year to provide an additional $55 million
in funds to help African nations on the front lines of our mutual war
to defend freedom.

The United States is committed to helping African nations put an
end to regional wars that take tens of thousands of lives each week.
We will help African nations organize and develop their ability to
respond to crises in places such as Burundi. We'll work closely with
responsible leaders and our allies in Europe to support regional peace
initiatives in places such as the Congo.

And we will also continue our search for peace in Sudan. My policy
towards Sudan seeks to end Sudan's sponsorship of terror and to promote
human rights and the foundations of a just peace within Sudan itself.
My envoy for peace in Sudan, former Senator John Danforth, has made
progress toward a cease-fire and improved delivery of humanitarian aid
to such places as the Nuba Mountain region of Sudan.

Since September the 11th, there's no question the government of
Sudan has made some useful contributions in cracking down on terror.
But Sudan can and must do more. And Sudan's government must understand
that ending its sponsorship of terror outside Sudan is no substitute
for efforts to stop war inside Sudan. (Applause.) Sudan's government
cannot continue to talk peace but make war, must not continue to block
and manipulate U.N. food deliveries, and must not allow slavery to
persist. (Applause.)

America stands united with responsible African governments across
the continent -- and we will not permit the forces of aggression and
chaos to take away our common future. We jointly fight for our
liberty; we chase down cold-blooded killers one at a time, and we do so
for the common good of all people.

Leon Sullivan wrote and spoke of a vibrant partnership between
America and Africa that, in his words, would help mold Africa into a
new greatness, glorious to see. Tonight, his vision must be our
mission. Together, we can chart a new course for America's partnership
with Africa and bring life and hope and freedom to a continent that is
meeting the challenges of a new century with courage and confidence.

May God bless the people of Africa, and may God continue to bless
America. Thank you for having me. (Applause.)